When My “Why” Left Home…

My life-time goal is to always be the best mom I can possibly be to my son.  I know many of us parents feel the same way.  My son is everything to me.  He is my “why” in life.  I think one of the hardest things for a parent is to have their child transition into adult life and leave home.  This is such an emotionally charged time for us.  Recently, Nora A’Bell of the Crankset Group came on my show.  And she gave me a new and novel insight into this… and I absolutely LOVE what she said; so I thought I’d share it with you today.

Inger Johnson: So, your daughter Julia was a freshman and sophomore in college. At that time, were you thinking about when she’d leave home?

Nora Abell: You know, no.  You don’t really think about it like that way.  I had a really hard time as you’ll be able to tell, with the transition because, first of all,  Nobody really talked about it and I had no idea what the different stages were.  It occurs to me that it is something like building a business.

When you’re building a business, you don’t ever say to yourself that one day that business is going to grow up and run without you needing to be there all the time.   Even so, the business can still be a part of your life and serve you or be a blessing to you. That’s what it felt like with Julia.  You don’t think of the time they are going to move out of your home.  And then, all of a sudden, it’s their Senior year and they’re ready to go.  They feel like they’re all ready, “Hey, you know, Mom, I’m 18, I can do what I want.”

Inger Johnson: You know, I love the way you put that because again, I love business, and business is part of finance and I grew up in the finance world.  But, one of the things you think when you start your own business is “I’m always going to be a part of that business.”  I have to be in the know and I’ve got to be in there cranking and making chairs.  I’ve got to be doing that because that’s what I enjoy and nobody can do it better than I can.

But, at some point, you have to let that business go and let it grow… And just like with a business, we have to let our children grow, and mature, and take on their own life…their own wings.  It is important not to consider this stage in life as moving away from the pain.  Instead, it is moving toward a future that has some resemblance of me in it.

Click here to hear more about transitioning your kid to “adulthood”.  What has your experience been?  What is your advice to parents entering this phase?

STILL DON’T HAVE A JOB?

Networking

Last year I interviewed Aimee Cohen of Cohen Career Consulting and she was telling me how often she hears “I don’t know why I don’t have a job”.  She then followed up wit some great advice.  Here is what she said:

Aimee Cohen:

I cannot tell you how many times clients come to me and they say, “well I don’t know why I don’t have a job? I’m on that computer 12 to 14 hours a day”. And whereas the computer and the internet a fantastic resource to research companies, find job openings, getting on Linkedin and connect with other people, it’s still only has a 4 to 6 percent success rate as far as actually securing an actual position.

Inger Johnson:

Say that again, because that’s important.

Aimee Cohen:

Okay, so the internet with all the major job boards [like] Monster, Ladders all of those fantastic resources [listing]  job openings. But when you do apply, it is like sending your resume often to a black hole in cyber space. And it only has a 4 to 6 percent success rate versus the number one job search strategy, which is networking. Networking is 75 to 80 percent successful, 90 percent if you’re an executive.

So that old saying, “It’s not what you know but who you know” proves to be true according to Aimee’s experiences.

Click on Prepping For The Career Move to hear Aimee on this subject.  Have you been unemployed a long time before landing a job?  What method did you use to turn things around that proved helpful to you in finally landing that new position?

EARNING CASH NOW

Earning Cash Now

“I need work.  What is the best MLM I can get into to get cash now?”

This was a question one of my listeners asked on my show Let’s Talk Dollars With Sense.  I was interviewing Lorin and Dixie Ricker, talk show hosts and Pre-Paid Legal Associates, on the topic of multi-level marketing.  My quick response on the show was this:

“MLMs should not be looked at as a “get rich quick” scheme.  MLMs are, however, great opportunities for people that are looking to supplement their income, are looking to learn about owning their own business or want to build their personal sphere of influence.”

Looking back, I realize that MLM businesses have the tendency to give some people the perception that buying into that business will afford you the opportunity of making a ton of money fast.  I want to explore this thought further.

People’s successes in the MLM business happen for a variety of reasons.  We’ve all heard stories of people joining a business and making thousands of dollars in three months or less, right?  What most people don’t hear is the story behind that success.   That person may have previously owned a business and have already built a large contact list to sell to.  That person may have had prior experience in building websites and utilizing search engine optimization and understands how to drive traffic to his website to increase sales.  Or maybe that successful person already had a background in marketing and was able to create a successful marketing plan that propelled them into making money.  Dixie brought up another reason for success:

Dixie Ricker:

I think that the success depends on the person.

Inger Johnson:

It really depends on the person.  You’ve got to research all of [your options] and see what you’re passionate about.

Dixie Ricker:

And is there a need in the market place for that particular MLM?  If you’re looking at the nutraceuticals, any of them, you’ll be competing with local stores with your vitamins, your make-up or your juices.  You’ll want to take that into consideration too.  Who is your competition?

Click here to listen to the audio of the show.  So how you make money in a network marketing business is going to depend on you.  There are services such as RI Training that you can turn to that will guide you to MLM success.  They provide you with education and tools you’ll need to help you build a strong and profitable business.  These services can be invaluable for the rest of us that may not have previous experience owning a business or are already successful salesman or marketers.

Are you successful in a network marketing business?  I’d love to hear how you made your business success, who helped you, what training did you receive or what experience did you have under your wing that helped you grow your business?

Commonalities Of Network Marketing Companies

Yesterday, I mentioned that I would share with you more about the conversation I had with Lorin and Dixie Ricker, talk show hosts and Pre-Paid Legal Associates, about network marketing and college students. I picked this topic to discuss because there are many college students looking for part-time income and are looking to network marketing to bring in extra income.  During my interview with the Rickers, we shared with listeners some commonalities between the many companies offering the chance to bring in cash.

Here is more of our conversation:

Inger Johnson:

What would you say are some of the commonalities in multilevel marketing companies?

Lorin Ricker:

Well, the commonalities that I find are the organization and the pay structure, the compensation.  Those are the big things for folks.  People join teams.  They join what are called sales organizations where they can, first of all, get the support as a neophyte, as a newbie, get the training and find out exactly how to go about doing business as what is essentially and independent sales agent.

They’re called by different things, you know, independent associate, or reseller, or agent, or whatever the terminology might be, it varies from company to company.  But, you are a member of a team.  You’re not in this by yourself.  You’re not just thrown to the wolves.  You’re surrounded immediately by an organization that wants to get you well prepared, well trained and also want to help you get productive as quickly as possible because that productivity is what starts putting money in your pocket.

The other things, or course, are the [offering of a] compensation plan.  Each has a slightly different model, but they are certainly paying you in direct proportion to the value that you’re bringing to the market in any regard.

During the conversation, we had a caller, Clay, who also brought to light the following:

Clay Stevens:

You know, every company has a product, or a set or products, or a product line, and that’s part of your offering.

Inger Johnson:

Bear in mind that a product can also be a service.  A lot of younger folks might not understand that.

Clay Stevens:

In fact, I think [The Rickers] have a service rather than a “product.”

Lorin Ricker:

We do.

Clay Stevens:

In the network marketing direct sales model, you get paid, as Lorin just suggested, in direct proportion to the value that you bring to every conversation.  The higher your value, we call those personal effectiveness points, or PEPS, the higher your PEPS, the more money you’ll make in this industry. So, you’re trading value for income and that income can go on, and on, and on.

You can click here to listen to the rest of the program.  Meanwhile, I’ll wrap this conversation up tomorrow when I share with you what Lorin and Dixie had to say when a listener asked what the best MLM would be if you needed cash now.

Do you have experience with network marketing?  What commonalities do you find some companies have or even some major differences?

College Students Enrolling into Multilevel Marketing Companies

CNNMoney.com reports that 2011 will be moderately stronger than it was in 2010 and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke tells us that the U.S. economic recovery is “finally getting stronger”.  With unemployment at 9.4%, its lowest level since May 2009, there is news that those with less experience and education are less likely to be hired than those with more experience and a higher level of education.

Enter Network Marketing.

Many young people are looking into other avenues of income and with the lack of available jobs, network marketing is seeing a tremendous boost than ever before.

In an interview with Lorin and Dixie Ricker, then talk show hosts for Get Your Life Back and Walking a Walk, we discussed the ins and outs of networking marketing, also known as direct sales or multilevel marketing (MLM). The Rickers have been in network marketing for years and have learned a great deal about many different companies.

When asked if it would be a good idea for college students to enroll into a multilevel marketing company, here is what the Rickers had to say:

Dixie Ricker:

I don’t think it’s a bad choice as long as the student can keep his focuses on his main objective, which is school, but use the MLM as not residual income, as another avenue of making money.

Lorin Ricker:

I’ll certainly second that motion as long as the student understands that the opportunity with a true business model is going to be an adjunct to their education at that point.  It can be an excellent way to supplement, to provide part-time income, which every student needs, there’s no doubt about that.  It is going to give that student a dose of the real world, sometimes, which might be flying in contradiction to what they’re learning in school, but a well-balanced student should be able to take that all into account.

Again, don’t get distracted from your main objective while you’re in school, which is to complete school and to do well at it.  But, I’ve seen instance after instance where some very good college students have become very successful, very quickly because they’re not only applying the knowledge that they’re getting in school, but they’re also gaining from the benefits of participating in a good MLM company.

The Rickers also had great insight as to the differences they’ve experienced in the many choices of MLM companies.  In tomorrow’s post, I’ll share with you what they’ve learned.  It’s an insight that can help others decide what company might work best for themselves.  Meanwhile, to listen to my interview with the Rickers, click here.

Consequence Of Changing Major In College

Recently, a good friend and I were chatting and she was telling me about her brother who was a “career student”.  It reminded me of an interview with had with Jeff Morand, founder of JP Morand & Company back in May 2010.

Our discussion was “everything college” which led to the topic of students changing majors mid way through college.  USA Today covered this topic as there is a growing trend of incoming freshman graduating after five to six years instead of four.

According to Jeff, a member of the National Institute Certification College planners, students can spend as much as $15,000 or more on top of their full tuition as a result of changing their majors mid way through their college years.

Here is what Jeff had to say:

“Often students, young people don’t know what they want to do when they grow up.  They don’t know what they ultimately want to become.  Changing majors is certainly okay but yet if we go back to that last piece of the College Planning Wheel, how they pay for it if we know we’re falling into that 5^th year or worse, you have that 6^th year, how expensive that is.

So continuing for a Masters like you have or continuing for other advanced degrees is common but yet, what we’re referring to with these statistics and what USA Today is referring to with these statistics is the plain, old simple not completing that 120 four years worth of study within that four year allotted time.  They change majors, change schools in certain cases and then all of a sudden, you’ve added that extra year or two onto the equation.”

Jeff then shared this advice:

“The best way to plan for college is to start early certainly.  When I say early, ninth-grade, tenth-grade is a great time to start.  But start even earlier from the standpoint of getting a flavor or an idea of who your child is.

Getting an idea of what their likes, dislikes, finding out certainly in the high school grades, whether they’re people persons or things persons, whether they like things or people, and that’s a distinctive difference.”

Click JMorand2010 to hear the interview.  Have you changed your major while in college?  How did you plan for the extra expense? What other ideas might you have to prevent from being that “career student” and spending more on college than already anticipated?   I’d love to hear your story.